David Amram An American Original MANHATTAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Richard Auldon Clark - Conductor Charles Castleman - Violin Nathaniel Rosen - Cello Kenneth Pasmanick - Bassoon Newport Classic LC 8554 - 1993 Distributed by The Music Source 1-800-75-MUSIC Allegro Imports 1-800-288-2007

FOUR heartfelt, exuberantly tonal works on a Newport Classic CD catch us up with Amram's pursuit of folkloric music. He's focusing on America here, the jewel being Theme and Variations on the traditional ''Red River Valley" (1991) ... Two sumptuous three-movement suites with elegiac blues sections at their centers pack constant surprises. There's an American Dance Suite (1986) with Cheyenne and Cajun inspirations, glowing and organically spontaneous. Travels for Trumpet and Orchestra (1989), with Taos (Pueblo Indian) and Taxim (middle Eastern) influences, pack a wealth of flowing rhythms into its journey... The disc winds up with Three Songs for America (1969), plaintive and relatively traditional settings of texts by JFK, MLK, Jr., and RFK. All four works are sympathetically played by the very impressive Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, led by Richard Auldon Clark. Amram is a genuine original; he communicates honestly, unafraid of using jazz, ethnicity, or simple exuberance as legitimate materials ... Recommended. Tom Di Nardo, Philadelphia Daily News David Amram's compositions and his unique approach to music are now finding a worldwide audience. C.F. Peters Corporation has been his exclusive publisher of over 100 compositions since 1963.